William Beckett live @ Reggie’s Rock Club

Mr. William Beckett, Chicago native, all smiles and rockin' the show at Reggie's for my new 70-200mm f/2.8 zoom.

Being a midwest native myself, it’s always a treat to shoot bands from the likes of Chicago, especially The Academy Is…, so it goes without saying that seeing an acoustic live show by William Beckett is always a must shoot experience for me as a photographer. Just shy of Christmas on December 19th, Mr. Beckett performed a special benefit show at the intimate Reggie’s Rock Club in Chicago’s southside. Since there was no photo pit barracade, the fate of my new 70-200 mm f/2.8 and the photography experience lied in the hands of my own resources and the friendly staff at Reggie’s (thank you, btw). The positive side to this was the access to just about any area of my choice, and the majority of my shooting took place on the left side of the stage. I also was given plenty of time to change lenses as there was no usual “3 songs then you’re out limit”, which hasn’t been the case when I’ve ever photographed TAI or William, which I have to say is both not only a privilege but an honor as well. Given that, I also used my 50mm prime and 24-70mm f/2.8 zoom.

As Mr. Beckett’s performance was a grade A story telling experience as always, he ripped through acoustic versions of everything from Winter Passing to The Fever (one he rarely performs live these days) to the wonderful Alkaline Trio cover he does of their song Radio. Special highlighted moments included him telling stories of the formative days of his band, The Academy Is…, on the rise and the support he got from Reggie’s and taking a swig of Jack Daniel’s straight (now that’s very midwest!) while stating it was his “Lil’ John ‘get crunk’ moment” that got a good laugh out of everyone in attendance.

It never seems to be a problem getting the approval of shooting either William or TAI, so special thanks to them and their management as well as buzznet.com. You can check out the rest of the photos in the gallery there.